02 Oct 2024
CIH Futures: Reflecting on The Housing Community Summit
The Housing Community Summit (HCS) was one of the biggest housing sector events of the year and with CIH and National Housing Federation joining forces for the first time, the pressure was on to deliver an agenda that would not disappoint and appeal to all of those working in the sector.
Step up CIH Futures! The core aim of everything we do, is to encourage more young people to become CIH members, by showing the attractive, valuable and accessible member offer. So when the opportunity came up to host a session at HCS, we jumped at the chance.
Our session, titled “Career Compass with CIH Futures”, gave us the opportunity to discuss and promote mentoring, one of the many member benefits CIH offer to help career development.
Four of our mentors joined us on stage to discuss why a mentor is a fantastic resource to help young housing professionals navigate the early stages of their career. Our mentor speakers were: Evie Copeland, customer experience lead at Berwickshire Housing Association, Faisal Butt, senior manager at Legal and General Affordable Homes (Operations) Limited, Jessica Wood, area housing manager at St Leger Homes of Doncaster and Nigel Finney a board member of Watmos Community Homes and chair of CIH Professional Standards Committee,
The panel was expertly guided through a number of questions from the audience by our own Amy McClelland from CIH NI Futures, but we were so inundated with questions, that we didn’t have enough time to get through them all in our 45 minute session.
So, instead of letting these questions go to waste, we caught up with some of the panel members after the summit to ask them what they thought about the questions we missed.
What skills have been most beneficial for you in leadership?
Jessica: “Patience and collaboration, to expand on this, give yourself time to grow and learn from experiences, work with those around you to share and learn from both your experiences.”
Nigel: “Listening and reflection have been especially important. Take some time to pause and reflect before you make decisions. This is not so much a skill but to be true to yourself. Your teams will appreciate your authenticity, and this will lead to trust and confidence.”
Faisal: “Listening, understanding, taking a pause, and reflecting – Don’t be too quick to form judgements.”
How would you suggest you prepare for your first meeting with a mentor?
Jessica: “Advice I would give would be, be prepared, be relaxed, and know what you want from your mentor. Its ok if the first mentor isn’t the right mentor, try again.”
Nigel: “There is an important stage prior to the meeting. If you are using CIH’s excellent mentoring platform post a clear statement about what you are looking for from a mentoring relationship - perhaps list three goals. This will ensure that you will get a mentor who is best suited to your needs. At the meeting state your expectations and agree the basics of your relationship and confirm the goals the timescales.”
Faisal: “Set out what you hope to get out of the relationship, where your strengths and interest lie, what areas you would like to develop.”
Senior leaders’ priorities are complex and often competing, but how can you encourage them to sign up to be a mentor? Sharing their experience can be really powerful and helpful for young housing professionals starting their career in housing.
Jessica: “It’s a great opportunity for networking and learning. Young professionals can provide fresh new innovative ideas, so the mentoring experience works both ways. It is a very rewarding platform to know you have supported a young aspiring professional.”
Nigel: “CIH will continue to promote its mentoring offer to members. One of the seven professional standards is to be an advocate in the sector and mentoring is a remarkably effective way to do this. Most leaders see the value in this as they recognise the need to pass on their knowledge, skills and wisdom.”
Faisal: “All leaders have benefited from good advice, support, and direction at some point during their career. Succession planning is key to bring forward the next generation of leaders and it is our duty to ensure that we continue to support young housing professionals through mentoring.”
If you are a young professional working in housing and would like to know more about joining the board or one of the devolved nations groups, please register your interest via the link and we will be in touch soon.
Julie is the CIH lead for CIH Futures and CIH Northern Ireland’s engagement and external affairs manager
